Albert a



(No Model.)

A. A FREEMAN.

PRESERVING BIVALVES. No. 453,144. Patented May 26,1891.

A TTOR/VEY.

THE new: Puma m, PncTn-ufnm, wAsHmumN, n. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ONE-EIGHTH TO GEORGE EVANS, OF SAME PLACE.

PRESERVING BIVALVES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 453,144, dated May 26, 1891.

Application filed January 31, 1891- Serial No. 379,788. (No modeld To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ALBERT A. FREEMAN, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city and county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Methods of Preserving Oysters, Clams, &c., in the Shell, which improvement is fully set forth in the following specification and accompanying drawings.

My invention consists of a novel method of treating oysters, clams, &c., whereby they are kept alive in the shell and retain their liquors and juices, so that when opened they will be found to be in natural and fresh condition.

Figure 1 represents a perspective View of a bivalve preserved by the method embodying my invention. Fig. 2 represents a section thereof on line 00 ac, Fig. 1. Figs. 3and 4 represent perspective views of oysters, &c., on a reduced scale, showing part of the method of preserving the same embodying my invention. 1

Similar letters of reference indicate corre-' sponding parts in the several figures.

Referring to the drawings, A designates an oyster, the shells whereof are formed with openings B in the bills thereof.

0 designates a rivet, which is fitted in said openings, its head being in contact with the shells, whereby the latter are prevented from opening or being opened until said rivet is removed or broken out. ,The rivet may be made of soft metal, so that its heads may be readily formed or hammered down upon the shells, thus tightly closing the latter without breaking or injuring the bills, and the opening B may be cut into the shells from the outer edges of the bills, as in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or drilled therein a short distance from said edges. It is evident that the oyster itself is hermetically sealed by the rivet, whereby the liquors and juices are retained within the same and the oyster may be preserved in live and healthy condition for a long period, in which condition it may be packed, shipped, or transported, so that when the oyster is opened it will be found to be natural and fresh and suitable for use. It will also be found that for the time being the rivet forms a permanent fastening for the shells, and that the same cannot be knocked ofi in handling or transportation. It will also be seen that the under side of the head of the rivet, owing to the hammering thereon, conforms to the rough nature of the shells, so that it takes hold thereof, and thus prevents the rivetfrom slipping ofi. As the rivet is applied to the bills or the ends opposite to the hinge, the oyster is prevented from opening its shells, owing to the fact that the latter are clinched or secured at or near the extreme front edges thereof. When the oyster is to be opened,

the rivet may be removed with the breaking of the shellsfor the insertion of the knife. It is evident that more than one rivet maybe employed, as desired.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

The method of preserving a bivalve, which consists in perforating the shells at a point opposite the hinge and in securing them immovably together by a fastening passed through such perforation, substantially as described.

, ALBERT A. FREEMAN.

Witnesses:

JOHN A. W IEDERSHEIM, A. P. JENNINGS. 

